I’m fucking obsessed with Frankie Rose. You may know her from her other projects Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and the Vivian Girls.

Her recent solo release Interstellar is sublime. Someone else somewhere compared the album structure to Disintegration, and I have to agree that there are definite similarities between the two records. That’s not to say Rose’sInterstellar is derivative in the least bit unlike many, many, many, many artists inspired by The Cure. Couple of my favorite songs ~ Know Me and Pair of Wings, but listen to the whole collection of songs as a complete thought because it is absolutely excellent from top to bottom. Catch Frankie on tour with Real Estate this summer.

Saw Mizz Dita Von Teese and her burlesque buddies on Memorial Day in Portland at the Aladdin Theater. I anticipated this show for months, set out on an epic journey to be there, and even built a Pacific Northwest trip around it. So did it live up to all the expectation?

In two words: FUCK YES.

Dita started the show with her now classic martini glass routine. She lip-synched a song about liking it slow, and stripped down from a perfectly fitted tux to a gorgeous corset. Her body is every bit amazing as it looks in pictures. Her waist is really that tiny and her skin is milky white and flawless. In between Dita’s four performances, other well-known burlesque stars like Dirty Martini and Catherine D’Lish punctuated the stage with their unique flavor. This show was interesting because there wasn’t any singing and really not much in the way of dancing. I’d call it more coquettish posing and prancing. It is like watching a live editorial photo shoot. Strike a pose, click. Strike a pose, click. The audience takes in a series of beautiful images, but really not much more. The whole shebang amounts to a gorgeous puff of powder, but what it lacks in substances it makes up for in style.Not to say there are no skills involved; Dita completed much of her mirrored-compact routine en pointe in Louboutin ballet point shoes. She definitely looked a little nervous and strained during the more challenging balancing requirements of the act. Truthfully, there were more than a few moments where Dita telegraphed her anxiety. When the fasteners on her garments didn’t cooperate with her quick release commands a palpable panic swept over both her face and her gestures. I found this surprising for such a seasoned performer since I’m sure in this type of show wardrobe hiccups are par for the course. While physically stunning, there is a classic stripper disconnect between Dita and the crowd. Many of her hand-selected co-stars made more meaningful connections with the audience than Dita. No one looked better, but there was definitely a wall up between Dita and her fans. Almost as if she was looking past us, or maybe down at us? Dita closed with a big opium den number set in part to a remixed version of the Cure’s Lullaby. The incredible finale climaxed with four gloved hands pawing Dita’s body into ecstatic submission. Nary a nipple was exposed, but the entire show was a pleasing, erotic, and light-hearted delight. This show was well worth the price of admission, and even worth traveling a distance to catch. We owe Von Teese a great debt in keeping the art of burlesque alive and relevant, and she’s obviously one of the most stylishly influential women on the scene. Three cheers for Dita indeed, Strip Strip Hooray!

Of all the cards in the deck, this one looks like it was taken off the wall of a cheesy tattoo parlor. It is quite literally the card of heartbreak, rupture, and betrayal. The Three of Swords represents the type of raw emotional pain that causes you retreat to a dark room with Cure records. I would tell you to brace yourself for an unexpected blow, but it is impossible to prepare for the searing agony of treason. Pull Three Swords out of your back and tend to the wounds before they scar.

Put that Kanye record down; it is time for some fresh music. Adele’s new album 21 drops in the U.S. on the 22nd, and it is fantastic. Adele serves her unapologetically powerful voice while nimbly tiptoeing through her range. Her sound is as nurturing as a warm blanket on a winter’s day.The first single, a deliciously bluesy stomper Rolling in the Deep, might have already made it to you – a little bit Supremes, a little bit Heart, a little bit KT Tunstall. Paired with Rumours, the strong tracks kick-start a thoroughly enjoyable collection.The piano on Turning Tables nestles into that tender place that will have you hitting repeat. My unorthodox pick for best song on the record is the sixth track, He Won’t Go. Adele’s lyrical timing and big chorus make this quirky tune particularly memorable.Since she was born in 1988, I’ll excuse the cover of Lovesong, but bitches please stop with The Cure covers. We all love The Cure, but exercise some fucking self-restraint. The Cure are not The Beatles, you dig?

Summertime brings on an itch for the amusement park, rather than actually interact with children, visit Adventureland. No movie better encapsulates the airbrushed corn dog nostalgia of the local crappy fun park of your childhood.Obviously, I’m obsessed with Martin Starr, so as a selling point let’s start with him. He somehow manages to slip a Gogol reference into every role he plays. Where Martin Starr goes, I follow. Unlike those God-awful Twilight movies, Stewart doesn’t make me want to gouge my eyes out in her performance as Em. In addition to the stellar cast, this movie has an excellent soundtrack including The Cure, Crowded House, and The Velvet Underground.